Soon, the medical center will be adding a Discovery IQ PET/CT scanner and a TrueBeam Linear Accelerator to the Radiation Oncology department.

The Discovery IQ PET/CT scanner allows two scans to be taken simultaneously to help manage the patient’s condition and properly phase the treatment.

Considered the latest advancement in image-guided radiotherapy technology, the TrueBeam will be the first treatment machine in the region to use arc therapy, a 360-degree treatment, allowing faster more accurate treatment.

"Better treatment ability would mean better tolerating the treatment for the patient," says Dr. Anthony Zalduendo, Radiation Oncologist at OSF Saint Elizabeth. "Less toxicity, less side-effects and, hopefully, a better outcome in terms of cancer cure by being able to localize the tumor precisely."

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To make room for the new technology, 3,800 square feet is being added to the Fox River Cancer Center, where OSF Saint Elizabeth Radiation Oncology and Illinois Cancer Center are located. Vissering Construction Company, of Streator, IL is overseeing construction.

The project is slated for completion in September 2018.

"That's a major undertaking," says Dr. Zalduendo. "And it's going to consolidate our ability to bring the community closer together. And offer these patients state-of-the-art treatment. It's something that Ottawa has not had for many years."

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“These advancements will ensure our patients will not have to leave the region to get the best cancer care possible,” says Dotty Peare, Director of Diagnostic Imaging at Saint Elizabeth.